Fatal Clostridium perfringens sepsis due to emphysematous gastritis and literature review

A 76-year-old female patient was admitted to the Level I Emergency Department of University of Szeged with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. The clinical assessment with laboratory tests and radiological investigations confirmed severe sepsis associated with intravascular hemolysis and multiorgan...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sárvári Károly Péter
Vasas Béla
Kiss Ildikó
Lázár Andrea
Horváth István
Simon Marianna
Pető Zoltán
Zsoldiné Urbán Edit
Format: Article
Published: 2016
Series:ANAEROBE 40
doi:10.1016/j.anaerobe.2016.03.011

mtmt:3045591
Online Access:http://publicatio.bibl.u-szeged.hu/12167
Description
Summary:A 76-year-old female patient was admitted to the Level I Emergency Department of University of Szeged with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. The clinical assessment with laboratory tests and radiological investigations confirmed severe sepsis associated with intravascular hemolysis and multiorgan failure and acute pancreatitis. On the abdominal CT, besides of other abnormalities, the presence of gas bubbles in the stomach, small intestines and liver were seen. The gastric alterations pointed to emphysematous gastritis. Despite of the medical treatment, the patient's condition quickly deteriorated and eight hours after admission the patient died. The autopsy evaluation revealed systemic infection of abdominal origin caused by gas-producing Gram-positive bacteria, and the post-mortem microbiological cultures confirmed the presence of Cloctridium perfringens in many abdominal organs. Emphysematous gastritis seemed to be the primary infectious focus.
Physical Description:31-34
ISSN:1075-9964